Shooting at Puma factory in Cambodia

Despite the increase in social audits in countries like Cambodia, China, and Vietnam, the incidents of worker unrest have risen. Here's a recent report from Reuters discussing a serious incident in one of Puma's factories.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/23/puma-cambodia-idUSL5E8DN8S820120223

This suggests to me that auditing factories to company codes of conduct is not having the desired impact on workers' lives. I'm sorry if you have heard that from me before, but it really pisses me off .
How many more articles like this will it take to pursuade Brands to look at the root cause of worker unrest instead of uncovering the symptoms.

Hello, is anyone in there?

In all of the statements Apple has made recently about its fair labor program and practices, I have not heard or seen once, any mention of their business practices impacting their factories' ability to meet their code of conduct. Not once. They are either in total denial or not aware of their impact. The impact of business practices, such as short lead times and pushing factories for better margins despite increases in the labor wages and raw materials, is well documented by those that have accepted that they may be part of the problem, such as Nike, Gap, Levis etc. Apple have no chance in gaining full compliance at their factories without understanding the root causes. SACOM  (Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior) have pointed out to Apple that this is something they should be aware of. They might try and make the case that they were unaware of this. However, now they know, yesterday was ignorance, tomorrow is negligence.

I hope the FLA staff do a better job than their President and bring these issues to the attention of Mr Cook.

Cambodian "People's Tribunal"

Here's an interesting article from Leonie Barrie, of Just Style Magazine.

Groups representing Cambodian garment workers are holding a "people's tribunal" next week to investigate pay and conditions at factories making clothes for brands including Adidas, Puma, H&M and Gap.

The two-day hearing in Phnom Penh follows a spate of mass faintings in the sector, as well as a series of strikes. It hopes to draw attention to the concerns of those employed in the garment sector - as well as a fair wage commitment from firms sourcing from Cambodia.

Unions and human rights groups will call evidence from a wide variety of stakeholders from the Cambodian garment industry, including workers, manufacturers, and multinational brands.
For the whole article, click here

The Brands mentioned have significant compliance programs, and I'm sure they are all aware of these issues. All garment factories in Cambodia have to be registered with the Better Work program and as such, agree to audits by the ILO, so they will also be aware. With such high profile scrutiny, you have to ask yourself why these issues are still there.

The following quote from the article may give you a clue.

"With this tribunal we hope to see some real commitment from big brands buying from Cambodia to start addressing the real needs of their workers - a living wage should be at the root of company policies," says Jeroen Merk, Clean Clothes Campaign international secretariat.

Apple in the press and feeling the squeeze

Sorry for the title. I couldn't resist it.
The New York Times put out an article last week about the compliance problems at Apple factories. I also received a request from the Huffington Post to comment on it, which I did. The Internet has been buzzing with indignation by Apple users and tech bloggers, and boycotts of their products have been called for. There wasn't much new in the report, except that they had a few quotes from ex Apple executives saying that business basically trumps compliance. And why, I ask, is this news? It would be a brave executive that would stand up and say " Let's reduce our profit forecast so we can pay factory workers more money".
This is more the reality.
“The only way you make money working for Apple is figuring out how to do things more efficiently or cheaper,” said an executive at one company that helped bring the iPad to market. “And then they’ll come back the next year, and force a 10 percent price cut.”
Here's the article in full

Explosian in Apple component factory

The scrutiny by Chinese NGOs is not abating. If anything, it is getting stronger.
Here's a report from the Washington Post by Hayley Tsukayama,

Chinese officials are investigating an explosion last weekend at another factory in China that makes components for Apple products.

Apple supplier Pegatron Corp. said in a statement that the explosion at the Shanghai factory occurred in dust collection equipment, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. The wire service said local media reported that 61 people were hurt and more than 20 hospitalized but that none had life-threatening injuries.

The explosion rocked the Riteng Computer Accessory Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pegatron, in Shanghai’s Songjiang district. The early details of the blast appear to closely mirror a blast at another Apple supplier’s plant earlier this year.

In May, an explosion at a Chengdu plant run by Foxconn killed three workers. The accident was believed to be caused by combustible dust in an air duct. Buildup of aluminum dust had been flagged as a workplace hazard just months earlier by a labor advocacy group called Student and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior.

Apple has faced scrutiny from such groups in the past for the labor practices at companies — particularly Chinese companies — that produce components for its popular consumer technology gadgets. In its 2011 Supplier Responsibility 2011 Progress Report, Apple said that it asked for an independent suicide prevention review of the conditions at a Shenzhen plant and was investigating a report that workers at a different company had been exposed to unsafe chemicals.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Shanghai explosion. Company spokeswoman Carolyn Wu told the AP in China: “Our hearts go out to the people who were hurt in Songjiang. We are working closely with Pegatron to understand the cause of this accident.”

How Local Watchdog Groups, Not Western Companies, Are Shaping Business Practices in China

Here's an interesting story from Forbes Magazine. I know I have been bleating on for years about sustainable CSR being achieved through worker inclusion and factories taking ownership of their compliance policies and process, but it is nice to see such a formidable magazine coming to the same conclusions. Here's a link to the article in full

http://www.forbes.com/sites/amywestervelt/2011/12/06/how-local-watchdog-groups-not-western-companies-are-shaping-business-practices-in-china/

Labor violations still a big problem in our supply chains

Here's a report from China labor Watch that just goes to show that even companies who have a fairly rigorous compliance process can be found lacking in oversight. One of the big problems most factories face is a lack of staff, especially in the cut and sew factories. Are your factories over their capacity to manufacture within your code parameters and local law?


Just recently, six American clothing companies, including American Eagle and Gap, have confirmed the results of a China Labor Watch (CLW) investigation that uncovered violations of Chinese labor laws and worker rights at a factory that produces accessories for them. A factory of the Jiangsu Ningbo Hesheng Headwear Company (henceforth “the Ningbo Hesheng factory”) was investigated in August, 2011 by CLW investigators. The investigators discovered the following conditions at the Ningbo Hesheng factory, which we have outlined in detail in an investigative report:
- Since the factory is understaffed, it employs many students between 16 and 18 years old who are on summer vacation. These students work the same hours and have the same responsibilities as normal workers.
- Workshop conditions are extremely poor, and include high temperatures and toxic gases.
- Workers regularly work more than 12 hours a day.
- Workers work 30 days a month during the busy season.
- The base salary for a factory worker is significantly lower than the legal minimum wage of Cixi County, where the factory is located.
- The resignation process is very difficult for workers and many workers are fined for resigning if they have worked at the factory for less than a year.
We sent this report to the Ningbo Hesheng Headwear factory’s principal clients, and while August Accessories, GMA and Betmar Hats did not reply to our request for a response, American Eagle, GAP, J. Crew, Liz Claiborne, Talbots and Target jointly responded that they took these allegations seriously and would conduct their own investigation of the Ningbo factory. On November 11, they sent a letter to us stating that they had confirmed many of our report’s findings and were working with factory management to create a safer and fairer work environment for its employees.

CLW director Li Qiang said that he was pleased with this news and eagerly awaited further news of improvements at the Ningbo Hesheng factory. However he added, “We hope that in the future multinational companies will establish a system for improving conditions in their Chinese factories, rather than making improvements on a case-by-case basis.”